1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a type of connector including a plurality of contact modules, and further relates to a method of producing this type of connector.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, information and communication apparatuses, broadcast and video apparatuses, control devices for factory automation systems, medical equipment, semi-conductor manufacturing equipment, semi-conductor testers, etc., have been required to process enormous volumes of data at a high speed with a high degree of precision. Therefore, connectors for these apparatuses or devices are required to have a high shielding capability.
The connector (the plug connector 3) disclosed in Japanese unexamined patent publication 2005-197163 is provided with a front housing 5 and a plurality of contact modules 6 which are fixed to the front housing 5 to be arranged in layers in a specific direction.
Each contact module 6 includes an insulator 28, a plurality of signal contacts 16 fixed to the insulator 28, and a plurality of shielding members (the first ground plates 14 and the second ground plates 15) which are made of metal by insert molding and embedded in the insulator 28. One end of each signal contact 16 is connected to a board (electrical circuit board), while the other end of each signal contact 16 is connectable with contact pins of another connector (the receptacle connector 4), respectively.
Each of the first and second ground plates 14 and 15 includes a plurality of substantially L-shaped portions 18 and a plurality of protrusion-shaped ribs 22. The substantially L-shaped portions 18 and the protrusion-shaped ribs 22 partly surround the signal contacts 16 in the insulator 28 to shield each signal contact 16 electromagnetically.
However, in the connector disclosed in the aforementioned patent publication, the connector needs to be provided with shielding members (the first ground plates 14 and the second ground plates 15) and also needs to be formed in a complicated shape in order to exhibit a shielding effect. Therefore, the number of elements of the connector increases; moreover, it is difficult to increase productivity, and accordingly, the cost of production tends to increase.
In addition, although the metal-made shielding members are provided for the purpose of surrounding the signal contacts 16, the internal area and the external surface area of an integrally-molded product 27 (i.e., the portion of the contact module 6 excluding the signal contacts 16) in which no shielding member exits are large, and accordingly, it is hard to obtain a sufficient shielding effect.
Additionally, since the plurality of shielding members are embedded in the insulator 28, it is difficult to miniaturize the integrally-molded product 27 (it is difficult for the integrally-molded product 27 to have a high a space-saving efficiency). Accordingly, each contact module 6 becomes large in size, thus increasing the dimensions of the connector.
Additionally, since the plurality of shielding members are embedded in the insulator 28, it is difficult to achieve a higher density in each contact module 6 (i.e., increase the number of the signal contacts 16 in each contact module 6 with no increase in size of each contact module 6).